Canada to embark on campaign to win release of citizens

TORONTO (AP) - Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Saturday that Canada will embark on a campaign to win the release of two citizens detained by China in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a top Chinese tech executive.

Freeland said on a conference call with reporters that the arrests constitute a worrying precedent that has resonated with the country's partners.

"We're going to keep working with a broad group of allies to raise this issue," she said, noting that Canadian ambassadors will be reaching out to governments across the world.

Freeland said she spoke with China's ambassador to Ottawa on Friday and made Canada's first demand for the immediate release of ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor. The U.S., the U.K. and the EU also issued statements in support of Canada.

Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, was arrested while changing planes in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, which wants her extradited to face charges that she committed fraud by misleading banks about the company's business dealings in Iran.

Nine days later, the Chinese detained Kovrig and Spavor on vague allegations of "engaging in activities that endanger the national security" of China.

FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2018 file photo, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland participates in a discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Freeland says China's detention of two Canadian citizens in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a top Chinese tech executive is a worrying precedent that has resonated with allies. Freeland said Saturday, Dec. 22, on a conference call with reporters that it's an issue that concerns partners around the world, and Canada will continue having discussions about it. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Freeland's declarations mark a tougher tone from Canadian officials. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been criticized by the opposition for his largely muted response and for not phoning his Chinese counterpart.

Freeland said that that Canada is honoring its extradition treaty with the United States and emphasized that Canada has freed Meng on bail. "She has been given absolute access to due process and the independent Canadian judicial system," Freeland said. "That is how Canada operates."

Rob Malley, president of the nongovernmental organization that Kovrig worked for, the International Crisis Group, said the Kovrig case should concern anyone who engages with China.

"If China can arrest & detain someone, deny access to a lawyer, provide no justification - then why would a member of the business community, or an academic, feel safe travelling there?" Malley tweeted.

On Friday, the U.S. State Department reiterated a call for the Canadians' release and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a statement the U.K. is confident that Canada is respecting its extradition treaty with the U.S. and said he is "deeply concerned" that China may have detained the two Canadians for political reasons. The EU, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that the "declared motive" for their detention "raises concerns about legitimate research and business practices in China."

The show of support from allies is significant for Canada, which has felt relatively isolated in recent months. In August, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada's ambassador to the kingdom and withdrew its own ambassador after Canada's foreign ministry tweeted support for an arrested Saudi activist.

The Saudis also sold Canadian investments and ordered their citizens studying in Canada to leave. No country, including the U.S., spoke out publicly in support of Canada.

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, left, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks to reporters during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou talks with a member of her private security detail after they went into a wrong building while arriving at a parole office in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

In this courtroom sketch, Meng Wanzhou, right, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, listens to the judge during a bail hearing at B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. Wanzhou has been granted bail for $10 million by a B.C. Supreme Court judge, $7.5 million of which must be cash. Wanzhou is wanted by the United States on allegations that the company violated trade sanctions against Iran. (Jane Wolsak/The Canadian Press via AP)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, second from left, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis right, and their Canadian counterparts Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, second from right, and Canadian Minister of Defense Harjit Sajjan, left, leave the Benjamin Franklin Room as they conclude their news conference following a U.S.-Canada 2+2 Ministerial at the State Department in Washington, Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)